Praised for his colorful contrasts and fiery playing, Dr. Alessandro Fonseca has been recognized as a “musician who seeks the inner message of every note played and aims to deliver a sound that is both passionate and intense, yet also delicate and refined.”

Dr. Fonseca has won several prizes in piano competitions in South America, as well as international awards, including First Place in the 2019 Vienna Grand Prize Virtuoso International Music Competition and Second Prize in the Piano Section of the 2021 Medici International Competition, Professional Category, and several other prizes in Piano Competitions in South America. Throughout his career, Fonseca has participated in many international festivals, such as the “Liszt and Russia” Festival in Los Angeles, where he, alongside other performers, played Lyapunov’s Transcendental Études. As a member of the American Liszt Society, he has also performed in numerous concerts featuring Liszt’s Transcendental Études, opera and song paraphrases, transcriptions, the Sonata in B Minor, and many other works.

Dr. Fonseca won the University of Oregon’s 2021 Concerto Competition performing the Khachaturian Piano Concerto.

Past performances include solo recitals featuring Liszt’s Sonata in B Minor, Beethoven’s Fifth Piano Concerto with the DSC Symphony Orchestra, a chamber music recital featuring Beethoven’s Violin Sonatas Nos. 5, 8, and 9, and solo recitals including Beethoven’s final sonata, Op. 111, and Balakirev’s Islamey. Last season, Alessandro also appeared as a soloist with the Space Coast Symphony Orchestra, performing Gershwin’s Second Rhapsody and I Got Rhythm Variations. Other past performances include Beethoven’s Emperor Concerto, the Grieg Piano Concerto, Rhapsody in Blue, and the Khachaturian Piano Concerto.

In 2022, Dr. Fonseca was awarded Second Prize in the Professional Musician Category at the Red Maple International Music Competition. He was also awarded the Audience Prize in the Concerto Competition for his performances of the Khachaturian Piano Concerto and M. Balakirev’s Islamey.

Originally from Brazil, Dr. Fonseca currently maintains an active career performing solo and chamber music recitals. As a chamber musician, he has performed numerous concerts in a variety of ensembles. One important project is Duo Alarte, a violin-and-piano collaboration with Ana Zivkovic. The duo has performed extensively throughout North and South America.

Currently, Dr. Fonseca is Assistant Professor of Piano at Mississippi Valley State University, where he teaches piano, chamber music, group piano, and music history.

Alessandro began his piano studies and musical training at the age of ten in his hometown of Campo Belo, Minas Gerais, Brazil, under the guidance of Gil Eliazar. He later completed his undergraduate degree at Minas Gerais State University under the guidance of Professor Dr. Miriam Bastos. He earned his Master of Music in Piano Performance at the University of Oregon, where he studied with Professor Dr. Alexandre Dossin and received the Outstanding Graduate Keyboard Performer Award. Alessandro also studied chamber music repertoire with Dr. David Riley at the University of Oregon.

In 2021, Alessandro earned his Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Oregon under the guidance of Alexandre Dossin and David Riley. At the University of Oregon, he worked for six years as a collaborative pianist, providing studio accompaniment for vocalists and instrumentalists. Dr. Fonseca also worked for five years as a piano instructor at Daytona State College in Florida, where he taught applied piano lessons and class piano.